A former director of the land bureau of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province has been charged with losing more than 340 million yuan ($46 million) of public funds through negligence.

Public prosecutors at the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court said on Wednesday that Tan Bin, 47, from Huadu district, had failed to consider land use regulations and overlooked the illegal transfer of more than 6,000 mu of land between October 2001 to May 2005, the Information Times reported.

He is also alleged to have accepted a number of bribes between 2003 and 2005, including 308,400 yuan in cash and a digital video camera.

Tan was arrested on May 11.

Acting for his own defense, Tan said in court that he was an innocent puppet, as his superiors had the final say in the transactions.

"I signed the contracts but the matters were decided by a higher authority. I couldn't do anything," he said.

Tan said the district government gave clear instructions to the land bureau to grant special discounts on land purchases to attract investors and contribute to the economic growth of the district.

He said that the government also negotiated with investors and reached agreements with them on land costs and conditions.

He had no choice but to finalize its decisions and facilitate land transfer, he said.

The usage rights for a total of 202 land lots, with a combined area of 6,636 mu, were illegally transferred to investors between December 2002 and the end of 2005, leading to losses of 340 million yuan, the court was told.

"I asked for instructions from a higher authority, as the land transfers went against national regulations, but I did not put the request in writing. That was my biggest mistake," Tan said.

Prosecutors dismissed Tan's defense.

(China Daily December 21, 2007)